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61st Congress 1 SENATE | ^^^,"'^^f 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES 



, , HEARINGS 

BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION 

OF NATIONAL RESOURCES ON BILL (S. 7242) 

ENTITLED "AN ACT TO PROTECT THE 

SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, AND 

FOR OTHER PURPOSES" 



PRESENTED BY MR. DIXON 



Junk 1. lino. — Ordered tu be printed with illustrations 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1910 



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fo\ 



^V" 



JUL 33 1910 



INVESTIGATION OF THE FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 



SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1910. 

Committee on Conservation of National Kesources, 

United States Senate, 
Washington, D. C, February 26, 1910. 

The Committee on Conservation of National Resources met at the 
call of the chairman in the Senate Office Building. 

The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m for the purpose of the con- 
sideration of the folknving bill. 

Present: Senators Dixon (chairman), Dillingham, Ileyburn, Clark, 
of Wyoming, Dolliver, Dick, Newlands, Overman, Bankhead, Smith, 
of South Carolina, and Jones. 

Dr. W. T. Hornaday, of New York, appeared. 

The Chairman. Before proceeding I want to announce that I have 
called a meeting for the consideration of Senate bill 7242, a bill to 
protect the seal fisheries of Alaska, and at this point I desire to insert 
the bill in full. The bill is as follows : 

A BILL To protect the seal fisheries of Alaska, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted hi/ the f?enate and Houne of Representatives of the United States 
of Anwrica in Conpress assembled. That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
shall have power to authorize the killing of fur seals and the taking of sealskins 
on the Pribilof Islands, in Alaska, under regulations established by him pre- 
scribing the manner in which such killing shall be done and limiting the number 
of seals to be killed, whenever he shall determine that such killing is necessary 
or desirable and not inconsistent with the preservation of the seal herd : Pro- 
vided, however. That under such authority the right of killing fur seals and 
taking sealskins shall be exercised by officers, agents, or employees of the United 
States appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and by the natives of 
the Pribilof Islands under the direction and supervision of such officers, agents, 
or employees, and by no other persons: And provided furtJicr, That male seals 
only shall be killed and that not more than ninety-five per centum of three-year- 
old male seals shall be killed in any one year. 

Sec. 2. That any and all sealskins taken under the authority conferred by the 
preceding section shall be sold by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor in such 
market, at such times, and in such manner as he may deem most advantageous; 
and the proceetls of such sale or sales shall be paid into the Treasury of the 
United States and shall constitute a fund to be called the Alaska seal fund, 
which shall be used, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor, to defray the expense of furnishing food, shelter, fuel, clothing, and other 
necessaries of life to the native inhabitants of the Pribilof Islands and of pro- 
viding for their comfort, maintenance, education, and protection, and to defray 
the cost of administering the laws of the United States relating to the seal 
fisheries of Alaska, including the salaries and expenses of all officers, agents, or 
emploj-ees appointed to enforce said laws. 

Sec. 3. That whenever seals are killed and sealskins taken on any of the 
Pribilof Islands the native inhabitants of said islands shall be employed in such 
killing and in curing the skins taken, and shall receive for their labor fair com- 

3 



4 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. C-.Y\^ ,^ 

pensation, to be fixed from tinio to tinio by tlic Secretary of Comniorco and 
Labor, who shall bavo tbo authority to i)r('.soril)o i)y rejiulation the manner in 
which such compensiition sliall l>o paid to tlic said natives or exi)ended or other- 
wise used in llieir JR'lialf and for their benefit. 

Sec. 4. That section nineteen hundred and fifty-six of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States and section one liundred and seventy-lliree of the act of March 
third, eijrliteeii lumdred and ninety-nine, be amended !<» read as follows: 

" No person sliall kill any otti-r, mink, marten, sable, or fur seal, or otlier fur- 
bearins animal, wltliin tlie limits of Alaska 'I'erritory or in tlie waters thereof; 
and every person .unilty tliereof sliall, for each offense, be fined not less than 
two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than 
six months, or lioth ; and all vessels, their tackle, a]»parel, furniture, and cargo 
found engaged in violation of this section shall be forfeited; but the Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor shall have power to authorize the killing of any such 
mink, marten, sable, fur seal, or other fur-b(>aring animal under such regula- 
tions as he may prescribe: and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor to prevent the killing of any fur seal except as authorized by 
law and to provide f(n- the execution of the provisions of this section until it is 
otherwise provided by law." 

Skc. 5. That section nineteen hundred and fifty-nine of the Revised Statutes 
of the United States and section one hundred and seventy-six of the act of 
March third, eighteen liundred and ninety-nine, be amended to read as follows: 

"The I'ribilof Islands, including the islands of Saint I'anl and Saint George, 
Walrus and Otter islands, and Sea Lion Rock, in Alaska, are declared a special 
i'eser\ ation for government purposes ; and until otherwise provided by law it 
shall be unlawful for any person to land or remain on any of those islands, ex- 
cept through stress of weather or like unavoidable cause or by the authority of 
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor; and any person found on any of those 
islands contrary to the provisions hereof shall be summarily removed and shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by fine not exceeding five hun- 
dred dollars or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both fine and 
imprisonment ; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
to carry this section into effect." 

Sec. 0. That section nineteen hundred and sixty of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States and section one hundred and seventy-seven of the act of March 
third, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, be amended to read as follows: 

" It shall be unlawful to kill any fur seal upon the Pribilof Islands, or in the 
waters adjacent thereto, except under the authority of the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor, and it shall be unlawful to kill such seals by the use of fire- 
arms or by other means tending to drive the seals away from those islands : but 
the natives of the islands shall have the privilege of killing such young seals as 
may be necessary for their own food and clothing, and also such old seals as 
may be required for their own clothing and for the manufacture of boats for 
their own use; and the killing in such cases shall be limited and controlled by 
such regulations as maj' be prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor." 

Sec. 7. That section nineteen hundred and sixty-one of the Revised Statutes 
of the United States and section one hundred and seventy-eight of the act of 
March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, be amended to read as follows: 

" It shall be unlawful to kill any female seal or any seal less than one year 
old at any season of the year, except as above provided; and it shall also be 
unlawful "to kill any seal in the waters adjacent to the Pribilof Islands, or on 
the beaches, cliffs, or rocks where they haul up from the sea to remain; and 
every person who violates the provisions of this or the preceding section shall 
be punished for each offense by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars 
nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment not more than six 
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment ; and all vessels, their tackle, 
apparel, and furniture, whose crews are found engaged in the violation of 
either this or the preceding section shall be forfeited to the United States." 

Sec. S. That section one of the act of December twenty-ninth, eighteen hun- 
dred and ninety-seven, be amended to read as follows: 

" No citizen of the United States, nor person owing duty of obedience to the 
laws or the treaties of the United States, nor any person belonging to or on 
board of a vessel of the United States, shall kill, capture, or hunt, at any time 
or in any manner whatever, aoy fur seal in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, 
including Bering Sea and the sea of Okhotsk, whether in the territorial waters 
of the United States or in the open sea." 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 5 

Sec. 9. That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall have authority to 
appoint such additional officers, agents, and employees as may be necessary to 
carry out the provisions of this act and the laws of the United States relating 
to the seal fisheries of Alaska, to prescribe their duties and to fix their com- 
pensation ; he shall likewise have authority to purchase from the present lessee 
of the right to take seals on the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, at a 
fair valuation to be agreed upon, the warehouses, salt houses, boats, launches, 
lighters, horses, mules, wagons, and other proi^erty of the said lessee on the 
islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, including the dwellings of the natives 
of said islands, the title to said dwellings upon acquisition by the United States 
to be vested in the native occupants thereof and their heirs; he shall likewise 
have authority to establish and maintain depots for provisions and supplies 
on the Pribilof Islands and to provide for the transportation of such provisions 
and supplies from the mainland of the United States to the said islands by the 
charter of private vessels or by the use of public vessels of the United States 
which may be placed at his disposal by the President; and he shall likewise 
have authority to furnish food, shelter, fuel, clothing, and other necessaries of 
life to the native inhabitants of the Pribilof Islands and to provide for their 
comfort, maintenance, education, and protection. 

Sec. 10. That sections nineteen hiuidred and sixty-two, nineteen hundred and 
sixty-three, nineteen hundred and sixty-four, nineteen hundred and sixty-five, 
nineteen hundred and sixty-six, nineteen hundred and sixty-seven, nineteen hun- 
dred and sixty-eight, nineteen hundred and sixty-nine, nineteen hundred and 
seventy, nineteen hundred and seventy-one, and nineteen hundred and seventj'- 
two of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and all acts and parts of acts 
inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. The provisions of this act shall 
take effect from and after the first day of ^ay, nineteen hundred and ten. 

STATEMENT OF DR. W. T. HOENADAY. 

Doctor HoRNADAY. I fancj that yoii have time, gentlemen, to con- 
sider only the facts that impinge directly npon the subject of the 
present hearing. It is my sincere belief that the fate of the fur seal 
to-day lies in the hands of this committee, the Secretary of Commerce 
and Labor, the Secretary of State, the Commissioner of Fisheries, 
and the President of the United States, and if that small group of 
men is not instrumental in securing immediately the measures that 
are absolutely necessary to the preservation of that industry, then 
I believe that it will be Aviped out entirel}^ in the very near future. 

First, one word in regard to my own status. By profession I am 
a zoologist, but when I am at home I draw as much salary for being 
a practical business man as for my zoological work. My interest in 
this question is not alone that of a zoologist, nor is it a sentimental 
interest. As a business man and patriotic citizen I desire to see a 
very valuable industry saved to the Government and to the people of 
the United States. 

I represent here the Camp-Fire Club of America, which is a New 
York organization of lawyers, doctors, business men, and others, all 
of whom are sportsmen and lovers of nature. One of the chief ob- 
jects of the club is the preservation of wild life and forests. Our 
New York organization is allied with six other clubs, scattered all the 
way from Jamestown, N. Y., to Los Angeles, Cal. Our own club in 
New York contains about 350 members. A committee consisting of 
thirteen members, all of whom, with the exception of myself, are 
lawyers, has been formed to promote the better protection of wild 
life. It is called the committee on game protective legislation and 
preserves, and of it I have the honor to be chairman. One of the 
first acts of that committee was to consider the case of the fur seal. 
My expenses here are paid by a special subscription in the club for 



6 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

the NYork of this committee. I do not come here to represent the 
New York Zoological Society. That organization has not elected to 
take an active part in the fur-seal matter, for the reason tliat it has 
so many interests in other directions. 

THE CURSE or " PELA(J1(" SEALINO." 

The present ti'ouble lies first in the fact that the number of fur 
seals have diminished to a very low point, and, secondly, that the 
situation is entangled with the affairs of other nations, particularly 
Canada and Japan. The evil at this moment arises from what is 
called " pelagic sealing,'' but I shall be careful not to dwell on the 
details of that, because I know that you are already familiar with 
it. " Pelagic sealing " means killing seals at sea ; and in killing 
seals at sea all ages and sexes are killed, indiscriminately, and of all 
that are killed, fully one-half are lost. If you will permit me for 
about two minutes to block out the subject, I will point to this map. 
[Indicating on maps jjrinted herewith.] (See map No. 2.) 

Here are tlie Pribilof Islands. Owing to the lack of a treaty with 
Japan, the Japanese seal-hunters have the right to kill 'seals to 
w^ithin 3 miles of the shores of these islands. They always have had 
that right, and during the past fifteen years have exercised it with 
merciless vigor and persistence. You will remember that about 
two years ago a party of Japanese landed on one of the Pribilof 
Islands and actually began to kill the seals on our own soil. 

This large circle represents the Canadian dead line. The Canadians 
ma}^ kill fur seals anywhere outside of that black circle, which is 
60 miles from the shore of the islands, but Americans may not kill 
seals at sea anywhere. 

Now, it is a well attested fact that every year, in the fall, the seals 
leave these islands and make the most wonderful migration that is 
made by any aquatic species in the world. It covers nine months in 
the year, and reaches about 2,000 miles. The months indicated here 
represent the seasonal progress of the herd. This region forms ])art 
of the hunting grounds of the pelagic sealers of Canada, Avho make 
their headquarters in Vancouver and Victoria. Until very recently, 
at least, the pelagic fleet contained about thirty vessels, manned by 
about twelve hundred men, using about three hundred boats. The 
sealers know in general the locality of the fur seals at different 
periods of the year. The migration route has been determined by the 
logs of the various pelagic sealing vessels that have taken fur seals 
at various times of the year throughout that great course. The great- 
est killing is done around the islands and close along the Pacific coast 
from San Francisco up to Prince William Sound. Between 1883 
and 1897 a total of 304,713 skins of seals killed at sea were marketed, 
and undoubtedly an equal number were lost. In 1895 there were 
56,291 seals killed at sea that were secured. 

During the breeding season, or from July to October, the mother 
seals are obliged to leave the islands to go off shore from sixt}^ to 
a hundred miles for food. The moment the mother seals leave the 
Japanese 3-mile dead line, the Japanese sealers are after them; and 
a mother seal, in order to get her food with which to suckle her 
young, is obliged to run the gauntlet of these Japanese vessels. The 
destruction of a mother seal means the starvation of the offspring 



FUR-SEAL FISHEBIES. 7 

on shore ; and uncounted thousands of 3' oimg seals have perished on 
our ishmds from that cause. 

In 1895 a member of Congress, Mr. J. B. Crowley, assisted in 
counting about iiO,000 young fur seals that starved to death on the 
breeding ground because their mothers had been killed while in quest 
of food. 

Now, let us come down to the necessities of the case. It has been 
my pleasure to study both the life history and the political history 
of the fur seal during the past thirty years. I have accumulated 
during that time a great many documents and publications on the 
subject, and facts derived from men who are familiar with the fur 
seals and the islands from personal observation. Up to this date 
several of my personal friends have been advising the Government 
as experts, and although I have witnessed this awful and wasteful 
slaughter of the fur-seal herd, I have resolutely held my peace until 
a few weeks ago. Now, however, as the total destruction of this 
industry is imminent and the fur seal is fast following the American 
bison, I feel that it is my duty as an American citizen to speak out. 

To come directly to the point, from a careful study of the present 
situation and the past history that has led up to it, especially the 
Russian history of the fur-seal industry, I am convinced that we must 
do three things to save our fur-seal herd, as follows: 

(1) We must immediately forbid the execution of a new lease for 
the killing of fur seals on these islands, for reasons that I will 
presently set forth; 

(2) We must secure treaties with Canada, Russia, Japan, and 
Mexico which Avill put a stop to pelagic sealing; and 

(3) We must declare a close season for ten years. 

THE RUSSIAN EXPERIENCE AND EXAMPLE. 

I will give you briefly my reasons for these opinions. Take, for 
instance, the necessity for a close season and for no lease. You will 
remember that the lease held by the North American Commercial 
Company expires next April. It is believed by some officers of the 
Government that the law providing for its renewal is mandatory. 
That is for this committee to determine. I hold in my hand a docu- 
ment entitled " Fur Seals of Alaska : Hearings Before the Com- 
mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives" (58th 
Cong., 2d sess.). On page G3, dealing with the Russian period of 
great diminution of the fur-seal herd, we find that in 1820 a report 
was made to the Russian Government by its expert, Mr. Yanovsky. 
The document says: 

In his Report No. 41. of the 25th Febrnary, 1820, Mr. Yanovsky, in giving 
an acconnt of his inspection of the operations on the islands of St. Paul and 
St. George, observes that every year the young bachelor seals are killed and 
that only the cows, "sekatch " and half " sekatch," are left to propagate the 
species. It follows that only the old seals ai-e left, while if any of the bachelors 
remain alive in the autumn they are sure to be killed the next spring. The 
consequence is that the number of seals obtained diminishes eveiy year, and 
it is certain that the species will in time become extinct. 

This view is confirmed by experience. In order to prevent the extinction of 
the seals it would be well to stop the killing altogether for one season and to 
give orders that not more than 40.000 are ever to be killed in any one year 
on the island of St. Paul, or more than 10,000 in any one year on the island of 
St. George. 



8 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

Mr. Yanovsky coiisidcM-s that if tlu'so measures are adopted the number of 
seals will never diminisli. The board of administration, although they concur 
in Mr. Yanovsky's view, have decided not to adopt the measures proposed by 
him unless it is found that there is no migration of seals to the two small 
islands which are believed to exist to the south and north of the chain of 
islands. * * * 

4! H< 4: 4: * « * 

The Russian records show that from 1817 down to 1834 the supply of choice 
young male seals was constantly growing less and less as each year followed 
the other; they show that no such method of killing these seals at sea, now 
so well known to us as "pelagic sealing," was known to white men or i)racticed 
by them, or by the Alaskan natives, during the entire period of Russian owner- 
ship and control, ending in 1.867: they show lliat this remarkable shrink:ige of 
the herd from 1817 down to 1834 was due entirely to overdriving and killing 
of young male seals; they show that fourteen years before the utter collapse 
of the herd took place this result of ruin was announced by an official investi- 
gator, who urged, in 1820, that steps be taken then to avert the disaster, and 
they show that in spite of this clear note of warning and remonstrance the 
greed and the avarice of a Russian board of directors overrule<i Yanovsky's 
appeal ; then they show that the end was reached in 1834, just as he had 
predicted under date of February 25, 1820, saying : 

* * * "That every year the young bachelor seals are killed, and that 
only the cows, 'seecatchie' and polseecatchie,' are left to propagate the 
species. It follows that only the old seals are left, while if any of the bachelors 
are left alive in the autunui they are sure to be killed next sjjring. The con- 
sequence is that the number of seals obtained diminishes every year, and it is 
certain that the species will in time become extinct." * * *' ' 

Then he asks that the killing be stopped altogether in 1821; and then, when 
resumed in 1822, that only 4(»,000 be killetl, etc. (Proc. Tribunal of Arbitration 
Bering Sea, vol. 8, jip. 323-32r), No. 6. 1803.) 

To this warning and remonstrance against overdriving and killing young 
male seals on the Pribilof Islands in 1820 the Russian board of directors from 
St. Petersburg, under date of March 1.5, 1821, made the following reply and 
denial: "That although they concur in Mr. Yanovsky's view they have decided 
not to adopt the measures proposed by him," etc. 

What was the result? 

The entire disappearance of the killable young male life occurred on the 
islands in 1834. Then came the long rest of ten years on these rookeries before 
killing to any noteworthy extent of young males was or could be resumed. 

In 1834 the Russian records show that just 100 " halluschickie " were taken — ■ 
all that could be secured on St. Paul Island "safely" — 'leaving in 1835 for 
breeding 8,118 fresh young seals, males and females together." (Veniaminov: 
Zapieskie, etc.. Vol. II, p. 568 et seq., 1842.) 

From the Russian experience there stand forth several important 
facts by whicli we may well profit at this hour : 

(1) In 1821 the Russians were warned to suspend the killing of 
the seals. 

(2) They refused to heed that warning:. 

(3) They thouo;ht that the killino- of the surplus young- males, 
under strict regulations, would not he detrimental to the herd as a 
whole. 

(4) The rapid decline of the entire herd, to 8,000 head in 1834, 
proved the folly of the continued-killing policy, and 

(5) In 1835 a ten-year close season Avas ordered. 

There is a chapter of experience that is applicable to the present 
moment. During that ten-year close season the seal herds increased 
to such great numbers that killing was resumed on a large scale, and 
in 1871 we found 4,000,000 seals on our islands. 

My prediction is that if the present system of killing continues 
that the fur seal as a revenue-producing animal will be blotted out of 
existence in two or three more seasons. 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 9 

VIEWS or THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSIONER. 

At this point a few passages from the latest Report of the Com- 
missioner of Fisheries becomes of special interest. I will read from 
pages 27, 28, and 29, and I desire to file the whole of Commissioner 
Bowers's reference to the "Alaskan Fur-Seal Service " as a part of 
my testimony : 

From the report of the agent at the seal fisheries it api)ears that during the 
season which closed July 31, 190!), the lessees were unable to obtain the quota 
of 15,000 skins, for the reason that the requisite number of bachelor seals did 
not appear in the drives during the legal season. The total take of skins was 
14,336, of which 11,022 came from St. Paul Island and 3,314 from St. George 
Island. 

******* 

During the season — 

That is, of 1909— 

a special count of the seal herd was made bj' Mr. George A. Clark, a member 
of the fur-seal commission of 1896-97, to whom was assigned the detailed 
study of the rookeries in those years. His investigations in 1909, following 
the same methods and having the same scope, are particularly interesting and 
important. It appears that the fur-seal herd has undergone a heavy decline 
during the past thirteen seasons, as evidenced by the fact that in 1S96 and 1897 
there were 157,000 and 130,000 breeding females, while in 1909 there were only 
50,000. This decline has been caused by the continuance of i^elagic sealing, 
which results in the killing of the females in excess of the natural increment 
of young breeders. The injurious effects of pelagic sealing have greatly 
increased in recent years, owing to the presence of a large fleet of Japanese 
vessels using firearms and operating throughout the season in close prox- 
imity to the rookeries, sometimes forming a close cordon through which the 
seals have had to pass on their way from and to the rookeries. 

The fur-seal service has come under the jurisdiction of the bureau at a 
time when the condition of the seal herd is worse than ever before, when the 
outlook is most discouraging, and when the contract for the lease of the 
islands for a period of twenty years must, under the law, be renewed. Under 
the existing circumstances the value of the franchise is greatly diminished, 
large financial losses may be sustained b.v the Government, and the perpetuity 
of the herd is seriously menaced. 

Continuing elsewhere the report says: 

The net outcome of the work, arguments, recommendations, and pleas of a 
long procession of special commissioners, experts, and agents has been (1) 
the passage of a law by which American fishermen are prohibited from engag- 
ing in pelagic sealing, while fishermen of all other nationalities are permitted 
to do so, and (2) the steady and rapid decimation of the herd, which has 
occurretl entirely independently of the legitimate operations on the islands. 

The Alaskan fur seals constitute the most valuable fishery resource that any 
Government in the world ever possessed. It is little less than a national dis- 
grace that the herd of four to six million seals which came into our possession 
when Alaska was acquired from Russia and has been under our charge ever 
since should have been allowed to dwindle until to-day it numbers less than 
150,000 of all ages. 

I regard Commissioner Bowers's report as a very valuable docu- 
ment. I do not see how it could have been improved upon even had 
it been written by Henry W. Elliott himself. 

Senator Dixon (chairman). AVliat is your estimate of the total 
number of seals of all ages now alive and really inhabiting our seal 
islands? 

Doctor PoRNADAY. I acccpt Mr. Clark's figures of 50,000 for the 
females and of 1,760 for the breeding bulls. You observe that ap- 
parently all the killable bachelor seals were killed in 1909, so they are 



10 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

out of the reckoning. I believe that 00,000 as the total number is very 
near the mark; but to save argument over a trifling detail I am quite 
willing to admit ,75,000 as the number now alive. 

Ol'INION REOARDINO HENRY W. ELIilOTT. 

Senator Dillingham. A moment ago you mentioned the name of 
Mr. Henry AV. Elliott. I wish you would state your opinion of him 
as an authority on matters relating to the fur seal. 

Doctor Hornaday. I have known Mr. Elliott for twenty-eight 
years. You will remember, some of you at least, that Mr. Elliott was 
the first man ever sent to Alaska by the United States Government to 
study the life of the seals. He was sent to the Pribilof Islands in 
1871, and he spent three long years there. He was ])reviously con- 
nected with the Smithsonian here in Washington, under Secretary 
Joseph Henry. 

Senator Dillingham. But did he go as the agent of the Govern- 
ment i' 

Doctor Hornaday. He went up there as an agent of the Treasury 
Department. His monograph of the fur-seal islands, embodying all 
of his observations, Avas published, I think in 1870, and for twenty 
years or longer it stood as the most — in fact, the only — complete and 
authoritative document relating to that subject. 

Now, Mr. Elliott has just one hobby in the world, and that is the 
preservation of the fur seal. That is his one idea in life. Mr. 
Elliott has accumulated a mass of precise information regarding the 
life history and the political history of the fur seal that I think is 
unrivaled. I have never known any important fact stated by Mr. 
Elliott to be successfully controverted. He has made two or three 
minor errors, which he has not hesitated to acknowledge; but as a 
source of information, and of valuable opinions regarding the fur 
seal, I regard Mr. Elliott as the first man in the world. 

I will add that during the past five years Mr. Elliott has become 
almost Avild Avitli indignation at the way this valuable industry has 
been annihilated ; and he has appealed to a great many members of 
Congress, to the President, and to various cabinet officers, for action 
to stop pelagic sealing and preserve the fur-seal herd. He has been 
so bitterly disappointed at the way things have gone that he has 
used a great deal of strong language. At times his language has 
been even violent. He has no personal interest at stake in the matter; 
none Avhatever; but to him these fur seals are, you might say, his 
proteges, and he feels very strongly regarding their destruction. If 
this committee, or any member of Congress, ever has occasion to call 
upon Mr. P^lliott for infoi-mation or opinions, I think you wnll get 
those opinions and informaticm from the very highest authority. It 
is quite true that Mr. P^lliott has antagonized the expert advisers of 
the Government. They are in disagreement on many ])oints; and 
for myself, I try to stand between the two, urging everybody to get 
together, and unite in an effort that will preserve a once valuable 
industry from complete destruction. 

OPPOSITION TO A NEW LEASE FOR SEAL-KILLING. 

We come now to the question of a new lease, which is the urgent 
question of this moment. I am advised that the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor feels that he is compelled by the terms of statute 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 11 

law to make a new lease as soon as the present lease with the North 
American Commercial Company has expired. I think that the Sec- 
retary is now debating in his mind how he shall call for bids. It 
was reported in. the New York papers the day I started for Wash- 
ington that he was on the point of calling for bids. I have not 
received that information from Secretary Nagel, so I do not qnote 
him to that effect. I considered that information very alarming, 
and that is why I came on the short notice that I did. I have quoted 
the view of the Commissioner of Fisheries, who states that the law 
for a new lease is mandatory ; and that is where the shoe pinches. 

TREATIES REGARDING PELAGIC SEALING. 

I have been convinced all along that if a new lease is now made, 
to take the j^lace of that which expires next April, it will greatly 
complicate the negotiations of our State Department, not only with 
Canada, but Japan and Russia as well. We believe that the Japanese 
and Russians are willing to enter into an agreement with us for the 
suppression of pelagic sealing as soon as we come to satisfactory 
terms with Canada. Last year our State Department endeavored 
to negotiate a seal treaty with Japan, but with no result. 

Now, what is the state of affairs with Canada ? During the past 
three years the State Department has submitted several propositions 
to Canada. I do not wish to say much regarding the Avork of the 
State Department, but there are some things that really must be 
said. I understand that certain propositions were submitted by 
Senator Root, then Secretary of State, and that they have all been 
rejected. The matter remains as much open and unsettled — and 
irritating — to-day as it was four years ago. Now, here is an im- 
portant fact bearing on this subject : 

In 1905 Mr. John Hay, who was then Secretary of State, prepared, 
with the assistance of Senator Dillingham, the basis of an agreement 
with the Canadian government that, if ratified, would have settled 
this whole matter and put it on a good foundation for many years 
to come. That agreement, a copy of which I hold in my hand, pro- 
posed that Canada should have a compensation for the suppression 
of pelagic sealing by her peoj^le. The Canadians are not willing to 
give up their pelagic sealing privileges for nothing, for the simple 
reason that the Canadians have made much money out of it. Now, 
Mr. Ha}^ and Sir Mortimer Durand agreed that it was right for 
Canada to have compensation — in the form of a small percentage of 
the net annual income from the killing lease — 20 per cent of what- 
ever the amount might be, and also the privilege of being represented 
by a commissioner on our islands. Well, just as this was on the point 
of being ratified into a treaty Secretary Hay died and the whole 
thing fell to the ground. Mr. Elliott exercised every form of per- 
suasion and insistence that he knew of to induce this Government, 
through Congress, through cabinet officers and the President, to 
renew it along those lines, but I am told by Mr. Elliott that it never 
was done. 

At the Paris tribunal, in 1893, we made a treaty with England and 
Canada, by which the Canadians were estopped from pelagic sealing 
at the 60-inile limit. AVe have no absolute treaty with Japan and 
Russia, and therefore the terms of international law hold good; 



12 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

that is to say beyond the 3-iiiile limit. We can not protect our fur 
seals from either Japanese or Russians. Canada is still bound by 
the Paris award to the ()0-mile limit. 

TIIK SENATE COMMirrEE's PROPOSAL. 

The proposition that the Camp- Fire Club submits now is exactly 
what Senator Dillinohani's committee proposed several years ago. It 
is nothing new, but it is ten times more necessary to-day than it was 
then. In talking this matter over, and I refer once more to the fact 
that, with the exception of myself, all of the members of the Camp- 
Fire Club's committee on game protection are lawyers and level- 
headed business men. In discussing the situation we concluded it to 
be well worth while to make a clear field for the State Department for 
the making of treaties, by the withholding of a new lease and the 
enactment of a ten-year close season. This seems clearly imperative, 
both from the diplomatic standpoint and because of the necessity of 
allowing the seals time in which to breed up to say a million head, so 
that we can again begin killing and can derive an annual revenue of 
a million dollars. We have strenuously held that there should be no 
renewal of the lease now, for those reasons. 

Although this Government submitted to England, last Novem- 
ber, a proposal for a new treaty concerning the fur seal, we know 
that w^e are only on the threshold of negotiations in the matter. As 
everyone has read in the newspapers, the proposition submitted by 
our State Department to England was by England transmitted to 
Canada. We know it reached Ottawa about the 15th of this present 
January, and we have recently been advised from London that it 
"has been held up." We feel sure that the reason why Canada has 
made no sign, and why we have heard nothing from that proposal, is 
that the terms of it are not satisfactory to Canada. In other words, 
we think it likely that there is no compensation to Canada provided 
for in that proposition. An interested citizen with whom I have 
recently discussed this matter thought that, if necessary, it would be 
proper to give Canada some compensation for the total suppression of 
her pelagic sealers. 

I said to him, " Would it not facilitate our negotiations if that 
lease is not renewed this year, so that we can go with clean hands 
before foreign nations interested, and say 'We have stopped all 
killing on our islands?'" He replied. "It certainly would." "It 
stands to reason that our Secretary of State would be glad to have a 
clear field while he is negotiating.'' 

A CLEAR FIELD FOR TREATY MAKIXO. 

That opinion is extremely important at this time. It will take a 
year to make these treaties; and it may take even longer. I insist 
upon it, as representing three hundred and fifty good citizens who are 
interested in this subject, that the making of any new^ killing lease at 
this time would complicate our negotiations with foreign govern- 
ments, and it might easily be the means of entirely defeating the pur- 
pose of our Secretary of State. We believe that the imperative need 
at the present hour is that this committee shall secure from Congress 
such action which will enable the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 13 

to abandon all thought of now executing a new lease, and at the same 
time, if possible, provide for a ten-year close season. 

There is one other matter that I desire to mention, because it is cer- 
tain to be brought forward by those who desire the execution of a new 
slaughtering lease. The law provides that the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor shall have the power to restrict, or in other words, 
to i^lace a limit upon the number of seals that may be killed under the 
lease, according to his discretion. It is claimed by some of the 
gentlemen who do not agree with us in the matter, that it is not nec- 
essar}^ to have a new act passed, or any new regulation of any kind 
adopted on the theory that the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
has the power to regulate killing operations upon our islands and 
suspend all killing if he chooses. I do not think that, as professional 
and business men, this committee is likely to lose sight of this fact: 
AVith a new lease in existence, and with thousands of dollars invested 
in the sealing industry, it will require a Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor with a tremendous amount of courage to go to the length of 
stopping the killing privilege entirely, even though he should think it 
ever so necessary. I do not think that it would be right for this 
Government to expect any Secretary to assume the entire responsi- 
bility of virtually abrogating an existing lease where the holders of 
the lease have large vested rights, and assuredly would put in large- 
sized claims for damages. 

THE LOSS TO THE UNITED STATES. 

We got last year (1909) $10.22 per skin for 14,336 skins, making 
our revenue about $150,000, whereas the protection of the islands 
with five revenue cutters and other charges on account of the fur- 
seal industry cost the Government about $340,000 for the year, thus 
entailing a loss to the Government of about $190,000 for 1909. Ever 
since 1895 we have had to maintain up there a fleet of from four to 
five A'essels to protect the seal herds from total annihilation. You 
will remember that on one occasion a marauding force of Japanese 
seal killers landed on St. George Island and eight Japanese were 
killed b}^ our guards. With the assistance of Mr. Elliott, I have 
ascertained from official records the cost of maintaining that patrol 
fleet, and our other expenses in connection with the fur-seal industry. 
The diagram I now submit, drawn exclusively from official records, 
shows that up to 1891, when the present lease was executed, we had 
received a net revenue of $5,738,724; that since that time, or from 
1891 up to this time, the net loss for the twenty years has been 
$2,247,544; and that during that time the fur-seal herd has decreased 
from 4,700,000 to whatever it is now, which may reasonably be 
estimated at 60,000. As stated by Commissioner Bowers in his re- 
port, our loss on seals killed at sea easily runs up into more millions 
than we can reckon up. The worst of it all is that the situation to- 
day is so critical that nothing save quick and drastic action can save 
the industry from complete annihilation. 

Now, gentlemen, I think that is all that I need to offer on this 
occasion. In conclusion, I wish to repeat what I said before — that 
the fur-seal industr}^ rests in the hands of this committee, the Secre- 
tary of Commerce and Labor, the United States Commissioner of 
Fisheries, the Secretary of State, and the President of the United 
States. 



14 FUB-SEAL FISHERIES. 

I have read various articles in Canadian papers, voicing; the senti- 
ments of the Canadian government, to the effect that Canada is not 
willing to make any new treaty except on a basis of compensation 
and joint control. It has been stated in several different forms that 
Canada is willing to enter into a treaty if she secures those two 
objects in return for the suppression of her pelagic sealers. It is 
plainly intimated that Japan and Russia is -willing to make treaties 
with us as soon as we have nuide one with Canada, but not before. 
The necessity for the suppression of our killing on land, for a period, 
surely is obvious. 

Senator Newlands. Can you tell us who owns the bulk of the stock 
in the company holding the lease that expires in Aj^ril? 

Doctor HoRNAOAY. I have been informed, on what I regard as reli- 
able authority, that two-thirds of the stock of the North American 
Commercial Company is now held by the estate of the late D. O. Mills, 
of New York, and that one-third of it is held by Mr. Henry Liebes, 
[I dealer in furs, of San Francisco; and also, that Mr. Liebes is the 
president of the company. 

For your information I would like to file as a part of my testimony 
my diagram designed to show at a glance the financial status of the 
fur-seal industry, and maps to illustrate the pelagic sealing situation. 
(See maps 2 and 3.) With the annihilation of a valuable industry 
actually impending, it is time to separate the enemies of the fur seal 
from its friends, and to know where every man stands. 



No. 1. 




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TUESDAY. MARCH 22, 1910. 

Committee on Conservation of National Resources, 

Washhigtoii, D. C, March 22, 1910. 

The Committee on Conservation of National Resources met at the 
call of the cliairman in the Senate Office Building. 

Present, Senators Dixon (chairman), Dick, Jones, Briggs, Dilling- 
ham, Guggenheim, Heyburn, Dolliver, Clark of Wyoming, Bank- 
head, Overman, and Smith of South Carolina. 

Hon. Charles Nagel, Secretary of the Department of Commerce 
and Labor ; Solicitor Charles Earl, George M. Bowers, Commissioner 
of the Bureau of Fisheries; Dr. B. W. Everham, of the Bureau of 
Fisheries; Walter I. Lembkey, Agent of the Seal Fisheries, and 
Dr. W. T. Hornaday appeared. 

Secretary Nagel. Mr. Chairman, I take it that the members of 
your committee are familiar with the jDOsition taken by the depart- 
ment, and more especially by the President, with respect to the fur- 
seal business, and I am not clear to what extent you care to have the 
subject discussed. 

Senator Dixon. Just make a statement of the situation up there 
and the purposes for which you have drafted this bill. 

Secretary Nagel. Well, to put it as briefly as possible, the chief of 
the bureau and I have come to the conclusion, after reading the 
report and getting such information as we have been able to get. that 
the situation in Alaska presents a question of conservation and not 
a question of business for immediate profit. Of course, we could 
go along as we have for a number of years, and perhaps have a cer- 
tain income, but at the present rate it is eas}^ to anticipate the end 
of the seal, and to my mind therefore the one question is what can be 
done to protect the seal against absolute destruction. Everyone 
understands that the real difficulty is the continued pelagic sealing, 
and we have a condition to deal with which necessitates our adopting 
such measures as may be best calculated to bring about a cessation 
of that system. In that matter we have to deal with other countries, 
and we ought to adjust our interests in such fashion as to be able to 
respond from time to time to the conditions that may arise. To that 
end the Secretary of State and I have a complete understanding — we 
are of one mind. 

Senator Dixon. Now, this bill fills all the possible requirement 
that the foreign office wishes in connection with the possible treaties. 

Secretary Nagel. Yes, sir; I wanted to be entirely accurate, so I 
submitted the memorandum to the Secretary of State and also the bill 
in the form in which it had been drafted, and the memorandum was 
carefully read by the Secretary. It had his entire approval, and I 
so stated to the President prior to his message. 

15 



16 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

Senator Dillingham. This puts the fiii-l)oaring animals under 
your direction? 

Secretary Nagkl. That is the controlliiii; idea. The President and 
T would like to ha\'e the fur-seal business put in such position that it 
may be pressed forward or receded from — treated from time to time 
just as the exigencies of the case call for. 

Senator Dillixoham. As I understand it, it will place the matter 
where, for the preservation of the seal, you can act within your discre- 
tion, and leaves you in an attitude where you can negotiate with 
other countries and have the power to meet any condition that arises. 

Secretary Nacjel. That is the idea; we did not think it absolutely 
necessary to provide for the killing of the bachelor seals, because a 
condition might arise when that would encourage pelagic sealing; 
so that we thought it best to leave that matter absolutely in our discre- 
tion to handle it as the conditions seem to call for. Of course, you 
know that this plan involves the care of the inhabitants. 

Senator Dixon. How many inhabitants are there up there? 

Secretary Naoi^l. I think, in round numbers, there are al)out 300. 

Senator Clark. That includes the employees of the company? 

Secretary Nagel. You mean those of the natives that are employed 
by the company? I take it we would be relieved as to all responsi- 
bility except as we might employ them. 

Senator Dillingham. I think, as a matter of fact, the lessees have 
employed the natives on the islands. 

Senator Dixon. Some one made a statement in the Senate that there 
were only about 37 or 40 of the natives on the islands. 

Secretary Nagel. No; there must be over 200. 

(Reading of the bill on page 2, line 4:) 

And proinded further, That male seals only shall be killed and that not more 
than ninety-five pei* centum of three-yeai'-old male seals shall be killed in any 
one year. 

Senator Dillingham. I suppose that 95 per cent is based on a 
recommendation to the Secretary by the seal board, that is, the ad- 
visory board of the Commissioner of Fisheries, including Doctor 
Jordan, Avho is one of the members. 

Mr. W. I. Lembkey (agent in charge). I would state, Mr. Chair- 
man, that the regulations at present in force on the islands reserve 
more than 5 per cent of the number of 3-year-old seals estimated 
to be in the herd at the present time; this I take it, however, is the 
minimum limit, under which it would be impossible to go without 
violating the law. At the present time with a herd, in round numbers, 
of 140,000, w^e reserved only 2.000 males each of 2-year-olds 
and 3-year-olds and 1-year-olds, and that represents 12,000 3-year-old 
males in existence 

Senator Briggs. Plow do you reserve them ? 

Mr. Lembkey. Before any killing has been allowed the lessee these 
seals are driven up and marked by the government agents in such 
a manner as to make them recognizable during the drives in the 
summer. These seals bearing this mark are immune from killing, 
and those 3-year-old seals which have been branded and immunized 
from the killing, that is, from the 3-year-old killing, pass over until 
the next year to the 4-year-old kills. 

Senator Briggs. How do vou mark them? 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 17 

Mr. Lembkf.y. Mark them by ^heep shears by clipping a piece off 
of the top of their head. 

Senator Smith. Does this marking render them immune from 
killing when they pass the 3-mile limit? 

Mr. Lembkey. No, sir, that is speaking of the killing entirely on 
land. 

Senator Heyburn. I would like to ask j^ou : Do seals mate like 
birds? 

Mr. Lembkey. Xo, sir; they are highly polygamous; a family is 
established by each bull, having in it as many cows as he can seize. 

Senator Heyburn. Do you think one seal bull is sufficient for a 
hundred females? 

Mr. Lembkey. I have my doubts about that; the avea'age harem 
on St. Paul is about forty. 

Senator Dixon. Now, someone raised a question yesterday in the 
Senate, Ivdon't remember who it was, that instead of the proceeds of 
the skins going into a fund to be disbursed by the Secretary that it 
ought to go into the Treasury straight and appropriations made from 
year to year. What would you say, Mr. Secretary, to the members of 
the committe regarding that? 

Secretary Nagel. Personally, I should prefer it; I do not know 
how convenient it will really prove to be, but as a matter of account- 
ing, and as a matter of my responsibility in the premises, I should 
prefer to have it go into the Treasury, because I never like a side 
business like this and would consider it only because of the general 
temporary character of this legislation ; as a permanent piece of legis- 
lation I would never be willing to advocate it. 

Senator Clark. I think, Mr. Chairman, from past experience my 
own impression is that a great deal of the difficult}^ that has arisen 
from the administration of the Forestry Service has been because of 
the fact that this same line was followed in the early administration 
of the Forestry Service and gave rise to a tremendous amount of 
criticism adverse to the officials of the Forestry Service, and I can see 
where this will lead to the same thing. 

Senator Dixon. Would you suggest any amendment there ? 

Senator Clark. No ; I was going to suggest that we pass it over. 

Secretary Nagel. Before passing, I wish to call your attention to 
this fact, that this law must be enacted very promptly, if at all, be- 
cause in five weeks 

Senator Clark. Now, of course, we have not had this bill very 
long to look over. I understand thal> the principal point in which 
you are immediately concerned — the great cause of haste is because 
the law states that on the expiration of the lease a new lease shall be 
be made by somebody, and that that lease expires on April 30. Speak- 
ing in a legislative sense, if we should give relief to that part of the 
bill, would it be necessary to fix all the details for the future govern- 
ment of the islands? 

Secretary Nagel. Perhaps not; but you would of necessity be com- 
pelled to make provision for the inhabitants and conditions of that 
kind, and that is precisely the point to which I expected to address 
myself. Appropriations will have to be promptly made because 
inside of five wrecks Mr. Bowers must take charge of these islands and 
have provision made for supplies, etc., for these people. 
S. Doc. 605, 61-2—2 



18 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

Senator Clark. Of course, I may he mistaken, but our appropria- 
tion for the inhabitants of the ishuids are now carried in our <ieneral 
appropriation bills — in the sundry civil ai)propriation bill. Now, 
our sundry civil approj)riation bill of last year continues up to the 1st 
of July, and if found necessary, could not the same provision be put 
in the sundry civil bill for the next year? 

Secretary Nagel. Perhaps so; but in the meantime, if the con- 
tractors retire within five weeks, we ought to be in positi(m not only 
to protect the inhabitants, but the herds themselves, ought we not? 

Senator Clark. Well, I am going on the assumption that that is 
already provided for by law at the present time. There are pro- 
visions of law at the present time as to the preservation of those 
seals which are unsatisfactory. The preservation of the seals and the 
government of the islands and everything is now in the hands, as I 
understand it, of the Secretary of Connnerce and Lid)or, and that the 
authority of the Secretary of the Treasury was transferred to the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Noav, those laws provide that 
nobody shall land on the islands, and give the Secretary absolute 
dominion over the islands in all particulars. And then this law that 
was passed in 1870 — I think it was 1870 — provides that this contract 
should be by the Secretary either renewed or a new contract made 
with some other person when that contract had expired. Now, the 
question raised in my mind was whether, if the relief were granted — 
this hasty relief that is to be granted, according to the views of 
everybody, relieving the Secretary of making this new contract — 
whether or not the same was necessary to 

Senator Dixon. But suppose this bill only carried the repeal of 
these present laws, Avouldn't it leave it in a state of chaos up there 
for the next year? 

Senator Clark. I don't think so. 

Senator Dixon. What authority would you have to take care of 
the natives? 

Senator Clark. Civil authority. You would have exactly the same 
authority, as I understand it^the Secretary would have the same 
authority over the islands and over the seal herd that he has now. 

Senator Dixon. But if you merely enacted the repealing clause — 
over here in section 8 it provides some new legislation making it 
unlawful for citizens of the United States to kill or hunt anywhere 
above the SSth parallel — wouldn't it be just as easy to get your new 
legislation as it would be to attempt it in a separate bill ? 

Senator Clark. Possibly. 

Senator Dillingham. The fund provided for in section 2 is reallj'^ 
of small importance compared to other funds — for instance, the for- 
estry fund. 

Senator Dixon. As a matter of fact, if this bill passes, it w^ould be 
a closed season; you w^ould really have no fund, for sometime, at 
least. 

Senator Heyburn. We would have fund enough to protect the 
3-mile limit of the islands, wdiich runs to the end of the fiscal year. 

Dr. W. T. Hornaday. I would like to point out at this juncture 
one very important matter for consideration. We must constantly 
have our eye fixed on the work that the State Department will have 
to do, witli Canada in particular. It seems to me absolutely certain 
that the Secretary of State can not do much with Canada unless he 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 19 

can go to the Canadian government and say, " We have stopped 
killing seals on the islands absolutely; there is no more killing for 
profit; only to feed the natives. Noav, if we can say that, our posi- 
tion with Cana'da will be strong, and if we can not say that, our 
position will be weak. Look at our position with Canada; the moral 
effect of going to Canada with absolutely clean hands in our negotia- 
tions and asking them, for decency sake, to join us in our efforts to 
get this mattet on a practicable basis. 

Secretary Nagel. If we once agree not to kill at all we may find 
that we have furnished the very condition that makes it attractive; 
whereas, if we have the power to do either, we are in a much stronger 
position. I know nothing about it myself, but we may find that a 
proposed agreement between our country and some other country is 
based on the returns — of course, I hesitate to speak too strongly in 
favor of this bill because I am not inviting the burden. I Avould just 
as leave have it some place else. But in my judgment this is the 
intelligent Avay to approach the subject. 

Senator Heyburn. Now, ther'e is a provision that the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor shall have authority to purchase from the 
present lessee of the right to take seals on the islands of St. Paul and 
St. George, the warehouses, salt houses, boats, launches, etc. 

Solicitor Earl. I do not think the contract provides for what 
should be done with the lease. 

Senator Dixon. This section simply gives the Secretary the right 
to purchase. 

Senator Heyburn. The question is whether we want to purchase 
this at all. The question is why should we purchase it at all. 

Senator Dixon. Doctor Lembkey, what have you to say as to wdiy 
the Government should purchase these articles. 

Mr. Lembkey. Mr. Chairman, whether the Government should 
purchase these dAvellings or allow them to be occupied by the em- 
ployees of the Government, after purchasing them, is a question not 
for me to decide, but I do think, as a matter of fairness, the company 
should receive compensation for that property which they shall 
abandon. 

Senator Dillingham, How many buildings are now^ occupied by 
the natives there? 

Mr. Lembkey. There are 50 or 60 native houses on St. Paul Island, 
and there are about 25 or 30 on St. George; I imagine they are 
appraised by the company at abjut $250 apiece; these are occupied 
by the natives as their family residences, erected by the Alaska 
Commercial Company in about 1872, and purchased by the North 
American Commercial Company from the Alaska Commercial Com- 
pany in 1890, when the property of the old lessee was turned over to 
the new. In addition to the natiA'es' dwellings there is a large 
residence on either island for the company employees, a storehouse 
on either island, several warehouses and houses for the storage of 
goods, there are two salt houses on St. Paul and one on St. George, 
four or five mules on St. Paul, and various other stock, one steam 
launch, and some boats. This property, with the exception of the 
boats, could not be removed, in my opinion, and of course it would 
remain on the island if it was purchased by the Government. It 
would be impossible to remove the dwellings. Of course, they might 



20 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

raze them, destroy them, or tear them clown; in that case, it would 
bo obligatory by tlie Cioveriiment. 

Senator (tI'goenheim. AVhat is the probable value of that entire 
oiitlit { 

Mv. Li:.MnKKv. Well, I could not estimate it, because 1 have no idea 
of the first cost; I have heard it variously estimated from $()0,000 
to $!)().0()(). 

Senator Dixon. Does thai include the boats, launches, and every- 
thing:? 

Mr, Lp:mbkey. Yes, sir. 

Secretary Nagel. Are you speakin*:^ of the first cost? 

jNIr. Lembkey. I was speakin<>- of the amount the new company 
])aid to the old com[)any; the amount thev paid for their para- 
phernalia. 

Secretary Nagel. That Avould be twenty 3^ears ago? 

Mr. Lembkey. Yes, sir; I have heard both of those amounts 
stated— $60,000 and $90,000. 

Senator Heyburn. Would that include the boats? 

Mr. Lembkey. Yes, sir, everything; the boats are simply small row 
boats, with one steam launch. 

Senator Dixox. I do not think it is objectionable myself. 

Senator Heyburx. I do not want to appear objectionable, but if 
we purchase them, it should be because we want them and not because 
they have to abandon them. 

Senator Dillingham. They stay there on account of the sealing 
business; there is absolutely nothing else to do except that; they are 
fixtures the same as the seals are. I was wondering if it would not 
be better if those are acquired, that they be acquired by the United 
States and then any disposition of them made afterw^ards which 
seems to be best. 

Mr. Lembkey. May I state that it would be necessary for the Gov- 
ernment either to acquire the paraphernalia of the sealing company 
or to provide paraphernalia of its own. It is absolutely impossible 
for us — for the present officers or the officials of the islands to con- 
duct the business without this or smiilar paraphernalia ; ^ve must 
have the paraphernalia of the North American Sealing Company or 
similar parajihernalia. 

Secretary Nagel. As to these buildings and this property, we, have 
put this provision into this section really because it w^as suggested 
in the original transfer of the old lease to the present lease, and 
because we know we shall be in immediate need of just these kind 
of facilities. (),f course, we might rely on our right to secure these 
buildings at the expiration of the lease, but I imagine that the tenant 
has the right to destroy them if he sees fit so to do. 

Senator DoLLivER. What kind of houses are these? 

Mr. Le:mbkey. They are frame houses. 

Senator Dixon. One room or two? 

Mr. Lembkey. I think there are two rooms, very small houses, an.l 
a small overhang which serves as a room. 

Senator Dolliver. You do not seem to provide for the valup.t:* -^ 
on these things. 

Senator Dixon. Line 16 "at a fair valuation to be agreed upo!i.' 

Secretary Nagel. Doctor Lembkey, you have been stationed r/) 
there? 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 21 

Mr. Lembkey. Yes, sir. 

Secretary Nagel. For how many years? — A. Ten years. 

Mr. Lembkey. What is your official title? — A. I am special agent 
in charge of the seal fisheries. 

Senator Dolliver. I would like to ask who holds the lease at 
present ? 

Mr. Lembkey. The lease is now held by the North American Com- 
mercial Company, a corporation chartered under the laws of the 
State of California. 

Senator Dolliver. Is it known who are the stockholders? 

Mr. Lembkey. There is a pamjihlet in existence which gives the 
articles of incorporation and the names of those who appear as 
stockholders. 

Senator Dolliver. Who are the present owners of the stock? 

Mr. Le:\ibkey. I have no knowledge as to that. 

Senator Clark. It is generally understood, whether it is based on 
facts or not I do not know, that D. O. Mills, or the estate of D. O. 
Mills, owns the greater portion of the stock. 

Doctor Hornaday. Yes, sir; and Mr. Henry Liebes, of San Fran- 
cisco, the president of the company, owns one-third of the stock, and 
the estate of D. O. Mills at i^resent two-thirds of it. 

Mr. Lembkey. Mr. Taylor is the present president; Henry Liebes 
was the president, but Mr. Taylor is at present the president. 

Secretary Nagel. Now, of course, this bill was delayed, and I am 
in a measure responsible for the delay. Without going into details, 
I would like to say that I have been in conference with the Secretary 
of State for some time, and he suggested to me not to take any steps 
of any kind for a time because of the condition of the negotiations 
pending, and I am moved at this time because I could not delay the 
matter any longer. 

Senator Dolliver. Did you find out what negotiations of the State 
Department are likely to be disturbed by this legislation? A member 
of that committee tried to explain to me that it was rather a delicate 
subject to go into at all. 

Secretary Nagel. How this proposed legislation might affect the 
negotiations pending between the State Department and other 
countries? 

Senator Dolliver. Yes; these negotiations with Japan and Russia. 

Secretary Nagel. No; quite to the contrary, I think I am at liberty 
to say that this legislation meets with the entire approval of the 
State Department ; I have not taken a step without conferring with 
them. 

Senator Dixon. How urgent are the old lessees that you execute a 
new lease? 

Secretary Nagel. I do not know, but I should imagine that they 
would like to have it; they have been quite reticent with me. 

Senator Dixon. If a new lease is authorized, the present company 
is practicalh' the only company that can bid? 

Secretary Nagel. I do not know about that ; I may not be in posi- 
tion to give all the facts, but there have been a number of inquiries 
from other persons as to Avhen this lease would be awarded. 

Senator Dixon. Have 3'ou advertised? 

Secretary Nagel. No, we have not, but as early as last November I 
put this matter before the State Department, taking the position then 



22 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

that it was a case of pelagic sealing — the end of the seal or the end 
of pelagic sealing; since then we have coninnmicated, and I have held 
off as long as I coidd. What is now done is done with the entire 
approval of the State Department. 

Senator Dollivkk. What is this $150,000 for? 

Mr. Lkimbkp:y. That would be for the cost of getting supplies to 
the islands, the cost of maintaining the school, wages, salaries, etc. 

Mv. Bowers. I will say that the natives have received from the 
sale of the skins 75 cents for each skin, amounting to $lt2.000, which 
goes to the natives to their support, and that $lii,()00 with tlie $19,500 
makes an appropriation of $;> 1,500. 

Senator Dixon. You say now about $19,500 cai-ried in the sundry 
civil bill? 

Mr. Bowers. Yes, sir. 

Senator Dixon. And $12,000 which the natives receive for skinning 
the seals? 

Mr. Bowers. Yes, sir; that is the whole amount of money that the 
natives have received. Is not that your construction, Doctor 
Lembkey ? 

Mr. Lembkey. Yes, sir; under this lease; under the previous lease 
they got as high as $40,000. 

Senator Dolliver. Why should we have this amount of appropria- 
tion ? 

Secretary Nagel. I can see one reason: This North American 
Commercial Company provides educational facilities and things of 
that sort, as I remember the contract, doesn't it, Doctor? 

Mr. Lembkey. Yes, sir; I will state, Mr. Chairman, that it is 
necessary to take about GOO tons of supplies to the islands each year, 
purchased in San PY'ancisco and other points on the coast ; in order to 
do this heretofore it has been necessary to charter a vessel. A rather 
undetermined amount, of course, will have to be paid from this 
appropriation. 

Senator Dixon. AjDproximately, how much ? 

Mr. Lembkey. It is questionable if you could get it chartered on 
the coast at this day for less than $300 a day. 

Senator Dixon. How many days? 

Mr. Lembkey. x\bout one hundred and fifteen days. 

Senator Dixon. That would be $40,000. 

Mr. Lembkey. Yes, sir. 

Senator Dixon. And then the purchase of supplies as well ; how 
much would that amount to? 

Mr. Le^ibkey. The entire $)^1,000 would l)e expended, of course. 
If you intend to take out the appropriation of the $19,000 from the 
sundry civil bill that, of course, would make the charge against this 
amount of $150,000 just that much more. 

Senator Dixon. Would it take $150,000, or would $100,000 suffice? 

Mr. Lembkey. One hundred thousand dollars would suffice, in my 
opinion, provided it is not necessary to expend any of that money for 
the paraphernalia of the company; but being a man interested in the 
practical work of the fur-seal industry there, I feel that we should 
have some assurance that in landing these supplies and taking the 
sealskins that we shall be required to take we should be able to use 
the complete paraphernalia for that purpose which the lessee has 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 23 

provided ; otherwise we would be almost at a loss to transact the 
business of the Government. 

Senator Dixon. You think, then, that $150,000 would cover the 
entire amount of the expenditure? 

Mr. Leimbkey'. Yes, sir. 

Doctor HoRNADAY. I wish to express, on behalf of myself and 
the men that I represent, our great delight in the progress that has 
been made for the saving of the fur seal. Far be it from me to 
ofi'er any form of criticism, but since the matter is now in the forma- 
tive stage, it is perhaps proper for me to olfer one or two suggestions 
that seem to me to be important ; otherwise I would not occupy your 
time with them. As you are aware, I am deeply interested in this 
subject and am indeed delighted that it is to reach this conclusion. 

Now, the men of the Camp Fire Club, which club has a member- 
ship of 350, who have taken this matter up in the most patriotic 
spirit, are convinced that our position as a nation really demands 
the going to Canada and Japan with absolutely clean hands and 
saying, " We have stopped the killing of seals on our islands.'" If 
we go to them and say that, they will, of course, say to us, "How 
do you prove that — what have you to show for that assertion — where 
is your regulation that backs up your statement that you have stopped 
the killing of seals on those islands; " this bill. No. 7242, is to provide 
for the killing of seals and the taking of skins. Now, that brings 
me to the crux of what I consider a very serious condition. We have 
contended in our own minds at least, and sometimes on paper, that 
following the Russian experience, the situation demands an absolutelj' 
closed season. I am aware of the fact that the advisory board of the 
fur-seal service holds a ditferent view ; in fact, holds to the view as 
enunciated to the Commissioner of Fisheries and the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor, that it is right to kill 95 per cent annually of 
the 3-year-old bachelor seals. 

Now, in conversation with some of the members of the advisory 
board, I have learned that those members have held the view that it 
is necessary for the preservation of the fur-seal herd that these males 
be allowed to be killed ; that they will fight over the females and tear 
them to pieces and thus kill them. I am obliged to say here that I 
diifer entirely from that view. As a zoologist who has made some 
study on the subject of the restoration of nearly exterminated species, 
I am fully convinced that the finest waj^ in the world to restore any 
depleted species is to protect that species on good feeding grounds 
and let it alone. We know that just prior to the acquisition of those 
islands by the United States, seals existed there literally in millions. 
The proportion of males was so great that it was possible to kill a 
hundred thousand without their lieing missed. And we know that, 
as a matter of zoological history, there is not a single species in the 
world which has required the intervention of man for the purpose of 
the killing off of its surplus males. Now that is a fact that is not 
open to argument at all ; it is a fixed zoological fact. In my opinion, 
there is absolutely nothing to fear from the surplus male seals if you 
declare a closed season there for a certain period of years. I think 
that the situation would be greatly strengthened if this Government 
and Congress could have now some assurance from some one, pre- 
ferably the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, regarding the future 
operations on the seal islands during the next five years. 



24 FUE-SEAL FISHERIES. 

Senator Clark. How could we have that, Doctor? 

Doctor HoRNADAY. If the Secretarj^ of Commerce and Labor 
should elect to assure us now that he does not consider it expedient 
or wise to kill any seals there for commercial purposes during the 
next five years, I tliink that would be entirely sufficient. 

Senator Clark. How could that possibly be sufficient when you 
consider the possibility of a change in administration, and when you 
consider the further "possibility of the fact that the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor can in no sense, except as a matter of policy, 
bind his successor; of course, he could establish for the present the 
policy of his department, but that policy would be subject to any 
change that any successor might see fit to make. 

Secretary Naoel. I might say here that it would be subject to the 
President's control at any minute; and I might also say that it would 
be subject to conference with the State Department, and my policy 
would be controlled entirely by that consideration. 

Senator Dillingham. Does not this bill place the Secretary, and 
in fact, the Government, in a position where they can say anything 
they please to Japan and to Great Britain; they have the power by 
law to kill or not to kill, and in their negotiations, do they not now 
possess the advantage that you think they should have? 

Doctor HoRNADAY. AVell,' that is quite true, but I do not think it 
goes far enough; there is no assurance in this bill or in these proceed- 
ings, so far. that there is actually to be a cessation of the killing 
of seals for commercial purposes on those islands for any given 
length of time. The point is raised, of course, that if we can not 
suppress pelagic sealing then the logical thing to do is for us to pro- 
ceed to kill on the islands until the seals are all exterminated. You 
will remember, a bill was introduced in Congress not long ago pro- 
viding that unless we got some arrangements with Canada, that we 
should proceed to the killing of seals on the islands. I do not at all 
agree with this plan of procedure. If Ave can not stop pelagic seal- 
ing and the seals are to be exterminated, I should much rather see 
them exterminated on the high seas than on the island;^ of the United 
States. We have for a matter of twenty years smarted under the 
wanton disgrace of the destruction of the buffalo millions, and for 
my part, as an American citizen, I would not consider it desirable for 
one moment for this Government to exterminate the fur seal simply 
because we can not stop pelagic sealing. I would rather see the 
odium rest entirely on the pelagic sealers, even though we should 
lose a few thousand dollars ourselves. 

Senator Dixon. As I understand it, the policy of the administra- 
tion is to enforce a closed season; that is the desired policy? 

Doctor HoRNADAY. I should like to see it the policy, and that is 
what I am asking. I wish it remembered now .that I make the spe- 
cific request that", no matter how it is attained, that there should 
be provided a closed season of at least five years. I think it is a 
zoological necessity. 

Doctor EvERMANN. I wish to say that the advisory board of the 
fur-seal service carefully considered this question as to whether there 
should be an entire stopping of killing on these islands for one year, 
two years, or any number of years. The advisory board is made up 
of people who have all been to the seal islands and are more or less 
familiar with conditions there. It was the unanimous opinion of this 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 25 

advisory board that the entire stopping of killing of the seals there 
could have no effect whatever upon the increasing of the herd. It 
would have no more effect upon increasing the herd of seals upon the 
islands than would the fact of a fanner keeping all of his bulls and 
rams and boar pigs. The seal is highly polygamous and leaving all 
of the males would be just as useless as it Avould be for a man who has 
a flock of sheep to keep all of his rams, and by tying your hands so 
that you will not kill any seals at all upon the islands you will be 
playing right into the hands of the pelagic sealers. 

Senator Clark. Upon what authority of law was this advisory 
board appointed? 

Doctor EvERMANN. Under no authority of law, but it was ap- 
pointed by Secretary Straus, former Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor. 

Senator Clark. And of whom does the board consist ? 

Doctor EvERMANN. The board consists of Mr. Lembkey, the chief 
fur-seal agent on the islands; Dr. David Starr Jordan, president 
Leland Stanford University; Dr. C. Hart Merriam, director of the 
Biological Survey; Dr. Leonard Stejneger; Mr. F. A. Lucas, director 
of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences; Charles H. Townsend, 
who has been on the islands many times, who is now director of the 
New York Aquarium; Edwin W. Sims, formerly solicitor of the de- 
partment, and Mr. Frank PL Hitchcock, the present Postmaster- 
General ; all of whom I think, with the exception of Mr. Hitchcock, 
have visited the islands. 

The Chairman. Is there anyone else present who desires to be 
heard? [Pause.] If not this concludes the hearing and the com- 
mittee will stand adjourned. 

Appended hereto will be found the bill as introduced, the message 
of the President, the report of the committee, and the law on this 
subject. 



[Public, Xo. 14fi. S. 7242.] 
AN ACT To protect the seal fisheries of Alaska, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and Houhc of Representatives of the United 
States of Ameriea in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor sliall have power to authorize the killing of fur seals and the taking of 
sealskins on the Pribilof Islands, in Alaska, under regulations established by 
him prescribing the manner in which such killing sliall be done and limiting 
the number of seals to be killed, whenever he shall determine that such killing 
is necessary or desirable and not inconsistent with the preservation of the seal 
herd : Provided, hoioever. That under such authority the right of killing fur seals 
and taking sealskins shall be exercised by otticers, agents, or employees of the 
United States appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and by the 
natives of the Pribilof Islands under the direction and supervision of such 
officers, agents, or employees, and by no other jierson : And provided fiirtlier. 
That male seals only shall be killed and that not more than ninety-five per 
centum of three-year-old male seals shall be killed in any one year. 

Sec. 2. That any and all sealskins taken under the authority conferred by 
the preceding section shall be sold by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
in such market, at such times, and in such manner as he may deem most ad- 
vantageous; and the proceeds of such sale or sales shall lie paid into the 
Treasury of the United States: Provided, That the directions of this section, 
relating to the disposition of sealskins and the proceeds thereof, shall be 
subject to the provisions of any treaty hereafter made by the United States 
for the protection of seal life. 



2 6 FUR-SEAL . FISHERIES. 

Sec. 3. That whenever seals aro killed and sealskins taken on any of the 
rrihilof IsliUids the native inhahifaiits of said islands shall be employed in snch 
killing,' and in cnrins the skins taken, and shall receive for their labor fair 
oonipensaiion. to be fixed from time to time by the Secretary of Connneree and 
Labor, who shall have the authority to prescribe by re^'ulation the manner in 
which snch c()mpensati(>n shall l)e paid to the said natives or expended or other- 
wise used in their behalf and for their benefit. 

Sw. 4. That swtiou nineteen hundred and fifty-six of the Revised Statutes of 
the I'nited States and section f>ne hundred and seventy-three of the act of 
March tliird. eijiliteen hundred and ninety-nine, be amended to read as follows: 

" No person shall kill any otter, mink, marten, saltle, or fur seal, or other fur- 
bearing animal, within the limits of Al.iska Territory or in the waters thereof; 
and every person guilty thereof, shall, for each offense, be fined not less than two 
hundred'nor more than one thousand dollai-s or imprisoned not more than six 
months, or both; and all vessels, their tackle, .apparel, furniture, and cargo found 
engaged in violation of this section shall l)e forfeited ; but the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor shall have power to authorize the killing of any such mink, 
marten, sable, fur seal, or other fur-bearing animal under such regulations as 
he may prescribe; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor "to prevent the killing of any fur seal except as authorized by law and to 
provide for the execution of the provisions of this section until it is otherwise 
provided by law." 

Sec. 5. That section nineteen hundred and fifty-nine of the Revised Statutes 
of the United States and section one hundred and seventy-six of the act of 
March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, be amended to read as follows: 

" The Pribilof Islands, including the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, 
Walrus and Otter Islands, and Sea Lion Rock, in Alaska, are declared a special 
reservation for government purposes; and until otherwise provided by law it 
shall be unlawful for any person to land or remain on any of those islands, 
except through stress of weather or like unavoidable cause or by the authority 
of the Secretary of Commerce and I,abor: and any person found on any of 
those islands contrary to the provisions hereof shall be suuunarily removed and 
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by fine not exceeding five 
hundred dollars or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by botli fine 
and imprisonment; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor to carry this section into etfect." 

Sec. 6. That section nineteen hundred and sixty of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States and section one hundred and seventy-seven of the act of 
March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, be amended to read as follows: 

" It shall be unlawful to kill any fur seal upon the Pribilof Islands, or in 
the waters ad.1acent thereto, except under the authority of the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor, and it shall be unlawful to kill such seals by the use of 
firearms or by other means tending to drive the seals away from those islands; 
but the natives of the islands shall have the privilege of killing such young seals 
as may be necessary for their own food and clothing, and also such old seals 
as may be required for their own clothing and for the manufacture of boats 
for their own use; and the killing in such cases shall be limited and controlled 
by such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor." 

Sec. 7. That section nineteen hundred and sixty -one of the Revised Statutes 
of the United States and section one hundred and seventy-eight of the act of 
March third, eighteen hundred and niiitey-nine, be amended to read as follows: 

"It shall be unlawful to kill any female seal or any seal less than one year 
old at any season of the year, except as above provided; and it shall also be 
unlawful to kill any seal in the waters adjacent to the Pribilof Islands, or on 
the beaches, cliffs, or rocks where they haul up from tlie sea to remain; and 
every person who violates the provisions of this or the i)receding section shall 
be punished for each offense by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor 
more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment not more than six months, 
or by both such fine and imprisonment; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, 
and furniture, whose crews are found engaged in the violation of either this 
or the preceding section shall be forfeited to the United States." 

Sec. S. That section one of the act of December twenty-ninth, eighteen hun- 
dred and ninety-seven, be amended to read as follows : 

" No citizen of the United States, nor person owing duty of obedience to 
the laws or the treaties of the United States, nor any person belonging to or 
on board of a vessel of the United States, shall kill, capture, or hunt, at any 



FUR-SEAL, FISHERIES. 27 

time or in any manner wliatever, any fur seal in the waters of the Pacific 
Ocean, including Bering Sea, and the sea of Okhotsk, whether in the terri- 
torial waters of the United States or in the open sea." 

Sec. 9. That the Secretary of Commerce and Lahor shall have authority 
to appoint such additional officers, agents, and employees as may be necessary 
to carry out the provisions of this act and the laws of the ITnited States relat- 
ing to the seal fisheries of Alaska, to prescribe their duties and to fix their 
comiJensation ; he shall likewise have authority to purchase from the pres- 
ent lessee of the right to take seals on the islands of Saint Paul and Saint 
George, at a fair valuation to be agreed upon, the warehouses, salt houses, 
boats, launches, lighters, horses, nuiles, wagons, and other property of the said 
lessee on the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, including the dwell- 
ings of the natives of said islands; he shall likewise have authority to estab- 
lish and maintain depots for provisions and supplies on the Pribilof Islands and 
to provide for the transportation of such provisions and supiilies from the 
mainland of the United States to the said islands by the charter of private 
vessels or by the use of public vessels of the United States which may be 
placed at his disposal by the President; and he shall likewise have authority 
to furnish food, shelter, fuel, clothing, and other necessaries of life to the 
native inhabitants of the Pribilof Islands and to provide for their comfort, 
maintenance, education, and protection. 

Sec. 10. That sections nineteen hundred and sixty-two, nineteen hundred 
and sixty-three, nineteen hundred and sixty-four, nineteen hundred and sixty- 
five, nineteen hundred and sixty-six, nineteen hundred and sixty-seven, nineteen 
hundred and sixty-eight, nineteen hundred and sixty-nine, nineteen hundred 
and seventy, nineteen hundred and seventy-one, and nineteen hundred and 
seventy-two of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and all acts and parts 
of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. The pi-ovisions of this 
act shall take effect from and after the first day of May, nineteen hundred and 
ten ; and there is hereby appropi'iated, out of any money in the Treasury not 
otherwise appropriated, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for 
carrying into effect the |)rovisions of this act. 

Approved, April 21, 1910. 



[Senate Report No. 441, Sixty-first Congress, second session.] 

The Committee on Conservation of National Resources having had under 
consideration the bill (S. 7242) to protect the seal fisheries of Alaska, and for 
other purposes, beg leave to report the same with the recommendation that it 
pass with certain slight amendments. 

After extensive hearings, covering every phase of the fur-seal question, your 
committee is of the unanimous opinion that unless legislation is had im- 
mediately the final extermination of the fur seal in American waters will be an 
accomplished fact within the next two or three years. The iiresent lease to the 
North American Commercial Company will expire April .30, 1910. The com- 
mittee believes that the provisions of the present leasing law are mandatory, 
and unless i-emedial legislation is had before April 30 of this year the United 
States Govei-nment will be compelled, under the law, to execute a new lease, 
either to the present lessees or to some other company, and that with the 
execution of such lease the final chapter in the history of the fur seal will have 
been written. The committee feels that the present situation is a critical one 
and can not too strongly urge the necessity for immediate action. The climatic 
conditions existing in these Alaskan waters make the Pribilof Islands the 
natural home of the fur seal. They are situated about 2.000 miles from Seattle 
by the most direct route, and are isolated from other land, the nearest point 
to the south being Uualaska Island, at a distance of 214 miles. The islands con- 
stituting the Pribilof group, which are of volcanic origin, are five in number. 

St. Paul and St. George islands are the only ones of importance, the others 
being small islets and uninhabited. Following the discovery of these islands, 
settlements were at once made thereon by the Russians. The killing of the 
fur seal by the Russians from the year 1786 until 1835 reduced the fur-seal 
herd to a little in excess of 4.000. In 1835 a closed sea.son of ten years was 
establi.shed. This resulted in a gradual rehabilitation of the Pribilof seal 
herd. From 1850 until these islands were acquired by the United States the 
killing of the male seals only was permitted under strict regulations of the 



28 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 



Russian Government, with the result 11i;i1 at \hv lime of our acquisition of these 
islands in ]S(>7 it was ostiiiiatcd that tlu-re wfre ahdut 4.00(M)00 fur seals on 
the Prihilof Islands. In INTO the United States adoi)ted the leasing system 
in regard to the fur seal. During the twenty-year i»eri(id of the lirst lease, in 
1S70, 1(»(),(MK» young male seals were killed annually. It was estimated that 
so late as isso the fui--seal herd ai)|)roximale<l ahout 2,(Hi().(»(M> animals. In 
lyOft the number had been reduced to about 'juo.ooo. The estimate of the pres- 
ent number of seals on these islands varies fmm ;;(»,(»()() to 14(>.(MM». Last season 
the catch of male seals on these islands 'UKler the lease expiring April 30 was 
a little in excess of ]4,(MH) male seals. 

THE FUR SKAL AS A RKVENUE PRODUCER. 

It is estimated by the government ofDcials that the revenue to the United 
States Govei'ument from INTO to l.S'JO from the fur-seal industry turned into 
the Treasurj' an income of $5,981,030.50. Since 1890, under the present leasing 
system and the rapid diminution of the seal lierd, owing to the catch on land 
and to pelagic sealing, the (Government has iirobably paid out for patrolling 
the waters, in the pay of its agents and in the maintenance of the natives who 
live on these islands, more than .$1.0<JO,000 in excess of the revenue formerly 
derived from this industry. Your committee is of the opinion tliat if a closefi 
season could be established for the islands themselves and pelagic sealing could 
be prohibited for a period of ten years that the I'ribilof Islands and the Ameri- 
can seal herd on the Pribilof Islands could be so rehabilitated that, under proper 
regulations, not less than 100.000 seal skins annually could be taken that would 
yield the Government not less than $1,0(M),0(K) in revenue yearly. 

The President of the United States being impressed with the urgent necessity 
of legislation along the lines set forth in the bill under discussion saw fit on 
the 15th of this month to transmit to the Congress a special message regarding 
the critical condition of the fur-seal industry, which is made a part of this 
report and marked " Exhibit A." 

The purpose of the present bill is to radically and completely change the policy 
heretofore pursued with regard to the fur seal. Under the policy now in exist- 
ence this herd has diminished from 4,500,000 in 1807 to probably about 60,000 
at the present time. Instead of the leasing system heretofore provided for, the 
present bill proposes to put the control of the seals wholly within the jurisdic- 
tion of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, giving him the right to establish 
closed seasons if he sees fit to do so, and giving him the right to kill such of 
the male seals as the experience of the past thirty years seems to justify. The 
bill prohibits pelagic sealing by American citizens absolutely north of the thirty- 
fifth parallel of latitude. The North American Conmiercial Company, whose 
]ease expires April 30, has certain equipment on these islands that the Govern- 
ment may find it convenient to purchase, and provision is made in the bill to 
give the Secretary of Commerce and Lal)or the right at his discretion to pur- 
chase such of file equipment as, in his judgment, he may find it convenient and 
necessai'y for the use of the Government in the future. 

There is now on the Pribilof Islands a colony of Aleuts, transported to these 
islands from the mainland and the adjoining islands, who have heretofore and 
are now utilized in' C(mnection with the taking of the fur seal. They are 
wholly dependent, temporarily, at least, on this (Government for their support 
and n'iaintenance. It is estimated that they number about 300 persons. 

PELAGIC SEALING. 

The greatest evil at this time arises from what is called pelagic sealing. The 
fur seals being migratory in their habits, they sjiend about four months of each 
year — July, August, September, and October — on the Pribilof Islands, during 
which tinie the females give birth to their young. During the remaining eight 
months of the year the seals take their annual migration, the route in general 
leading southwesterly from the Pribilof Islands and extending southward as far 
as San Francisco, the farthest point south being reached about the month of 
January, when the course of their migration turns again northward along the 
western coast of Alaska, ending at the Pribilof Islands some time in the month 
of July. It is estimated at the present time that the pelagic sealing fleet 
contains about 30 ves.sels, manned by about 1,200 men and using about 300 
boats. The pelagic sealing fleet follows the route of the seals during their 
migration, killing them at sea in great numbers. The greatest killing, however. 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 29 

is done around the islands and close alonj; tlie Pacific coast, from San Francisco 
up to Prince William Sound. During the breeding season, from July to Octo- 
ber, the mother seals are obliged to leave the islands to go oft" shore from 60 
to 100 miles in search of food. As soon as the mother seals leave the islands 
and get beyond the 'international jurisdictional limit the pelagic sealers liill 
them indiscriminately.. The mother seal is obliged to run the gantlet of this 
sealing fleet. The destruction of the mother seal means the starvation of the 
offspring on shore. During one season not less than 30,000 dead seal pups were 
counted on the Pribilof Islands whose mothers had been killed at sea by the 
pelagic sealers. 

PRKVIOUS ATTEMPTS AT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT FUR SEALS. 

The committee feels that it would not be amiss to call attention to the fact 
that heretofore eftnrts have b(vn made to enact new legislation that would in 
some way prevent the total extermination of the fur seal. In 1S9G, the Hon. 
Nelson Dingley introduced H. R. o20(3 looking to the protection of the fur seal. 
After full debate it passed the House of Representatives unanimously on Feb- 
ruary 25. It was favorably reported by Senator P^rye on March 4 and made a 
special order for March 11, but under urgent representation that " treaty negotia- 
tions had been reopened," the bill did not pass the Senate. 

On February 2, 1903, the House of Representatives passed H. R. 133S7, but 
on February 12 of that year the bill failed of passage in the Senate, owing to 
representations made that tlie bill would not be needed as the fur-seal question 
was about to be settled by treaty negotiations. 

In 1903, a special subcommitee of Senators, consisting of Senators Dilling- 
ham, Nelson, Burnham, and Patterson, visited the Pribilof Islands and made 
an exhaustive report regarding the need of immediate legislation on the part 
of Congress. At the following session of Congress Senator Dillingham intro- 
duced a bill providing for a closed season, but the bill never received the 
favorable consideration of Congress. 

In conclusion, the committee would say that the present bill receives the com- 
plete approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor and the Secretary of 
State, the Secretary of Commerce and Labor having appeared before the com- 
mittee and urging the necessity for immediate legislation. The bill was also 
referred to the Secretary of State, and has his approval. 

In order that a full comparison may bo had of the provisions of the present 
proposed law with the laws now in existence relative to the fur seal, we have 
appended hereto, marked *' Exhibit B," the sections of the present law as 
amended by the present bill ; also the sections proposed to be repealed relative 
to the leasing of fur-seal privileges. 

The counnittee recommends the following amendments to the bill: 

On page 2, line 12, strike out all after the word " States," in said section. 

On page 7, line 2, strike out all of said line after the word " islands; " also 
all of line 3, and the words " thereof and their heirs," in line 4. 

At the end of the bill, section 10, strike out the period in line 25 and insert in 
lieu thereof a semicolon, and add the following: "and there is hereby appro- 
priated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum 
of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, for carrying into effect the provi- 
sions of this act." 



Exhibit A. 
[Senate Document No. 4:^0, Sixty-tirst Congress, second session.] 

To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

By the terms of section 1903. United States Revised Statutes, the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor is directed, at the expiration of the lease which gives the 
North American Commercial Company the right to engage in taking fur seals 
on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, to enter into a new lease covering 
the same purpose for a period of twenty years. The present lease will expire 
on the 30th of April, 1910, and it is important to determine whether or not 
changed conditions call for a modification of the policy which has so far been 
followed. 



30 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Coninierce and Labor unite in 
reconinjending a radical change of this policy. It appcMrs that the seal herds 
on the islands named have been reduced to such an extent that their early 
extinction must be looked for unless measures for their i)reservation be 
adopted. A herd numbering 375.(K)() twelve years ago is now reduced to 134,000, 
and it is estimated that the breeding seals have been reduced in the same 
period of time from 130.000 to ."O.OOO. The rapid dei)letion of these herds is 
undoubtedly to be ascribed to tlie practice of pelagic sealing, which prevails 
in spite of the constant and earnest efforts on the part of this Government to 
have it discontinued. 

The i)olicy which the United States has adoi)ted with respect to the killing 
of seals on the islands is not believed to have had a substantial effect upon the 
reduction of the herd. But the discontinuance of this policy is reconuuended 
in order that the United States may be free to deal with the general question 
in its negotiations with foreign countries. To that end it is reconuuended 
that the leasing system be al)and()ned for the present, and that the (Jovernment 
take over entire control of the isl.-iuds, inclu(llug the inhabitants and the seal 
herds. The objection whicli has heretofore been made to this policy, ui)on the 
ground that the Government would engage in private business, has been de- 
prived of practical force. The herds have been reduced to such an extent 
that the question of profit has become a mere incident, and the controlling ques- 
tion has become one of conservation. 

It is recommended, therefore, that the i)i-ovision for a renewal of the lease be 
repealed, and that instead a law be enacted to autliorize the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor to take charge of the islands, with authority to i)rotect the 
Inhabitants substantially as has been done in the past, and to control the seal 
herds as far as present conditions admit of. pending negotiations with foreign 
countries looking to the discontinuance of pelagic sealing. If this result can be 
obtained, as is confidently believed, there is every prospect that the seal herds 
will not only be preserved but will increase, so as to make them a source of 
permanent income. 

A draft of a bill covering this matter has been prepared by the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor, and upon request will be submitted to the appropriate 
committees. 

Wm. H. Taft. 

The White House, March 15, 1910. 



Exhibit B. 

sections amended, 

No person shall kill any otter, miiik, marten, sable, or fur seal, or other fur- 
bearing animal within the limits of Alaska Territory, or in the waters thereof; 
and every person guilty thereof shall for each offense be fined not less than 
two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than 
six months, or both; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo 
found engaged in violation of this section shall be forfeited; but the Secretary 
of Couunerce and Labor shall have power to authorize the killing of any such 
mink, marten, sable, fur seal, or other fur-bearing animal under such regula- 
tion as he may prescribe; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor to prevent the killing of any fur seal except as authorized by 
law, and to provide for the execution of the provisions of this section until 
it is otherwise provided by law. 

The Pribilof Islands, including the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, 
Walrus and Otter islands, and Sea Lion Rock, in Alaska, are declared a special 
reservation for government purposes; and until otherwise provided by law it 
shall be luilawful for any person to land or remain on any of those islands, 
except through stress of weather or like unavoidable cause or by the authority 
of the Secretary of Commerce and I^.-ibor ; and any person found on any of those 
islands contrary to the provisions hereof shall be summarily removed, and shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding five 
hundred dolalrs or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both fine 
and imprisonment; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor to carry this section into effect. 



FUR-SEAL FISHEEIES. 31 

It shall be unlawful to kill any fur seal upon the Pribilof Islands or in the 
waters adjacent thereto, except under the authority of the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor, and it shall be unlawful to kill such seals at any time by 
the use of firearms, or by other means tending to drive the seals away from 
those islands; but the natives of the islands shall have the privilege of killing 
such young seals as may be necessary for their own food and clothing, and also 
such old seals as may be required for their own clothing and for the manu- 
facture of boats for their own use; and the killing in such cases shall be 
limited and controlled by such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secre- 
tary of Commerce aud Labor. 

It shall be unlawful to kill any female seal, or any seal less than one year 
old, at any season of the year, except as above provided; and it shall also be 
unlawful to kill any seal in the waters adjacent to the Pribilof Islands, or on 
the beaches, cliffs, or rocks where they haul up from the sea to remain; and 
every person who violates the provisions of this or the preceding section shall 
be punishwl for each offense by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars 
nor more than one thousand dollars, or liy imprisonment not more than six 
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and all vessels, their tackle, 
apparel, and furniture, whose crews are found engaged in the violation of 
either this or the preceding section, shall be forfeited to the United States. 

Xo citizen of the United States, nor person owing duty of obedience to 
the laws or the treaties of the United States, nor any person belonging to or on 
board of a vessel of the United States, shall kill, capture, or hunt, at any time 
or in any manner whatever, any fur seal in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, 
including Bering Sea and the sea of Okhotsk, whether in the territorial waters 
of the United States or in the open sea. 

SECTIONS REPEALED, 

When the lease heretofore made by the Secretary of the Treasury to " The 
Alaska Commercial Company,"" of the right to engage in taking fur-seals on 
the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, pursuant to the act of July one, 
one thousand eight hundred and seventy, chapter one hundred and eighty-nine 
[R. S. 1957. 1000-1071. 5l20ol. or when any future similar lease expires, or is 
surrendered, forfeited, or terminated, the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
shall lease to proper and responsible parties, for the best advantage of the 
United States, having due regard to the interests of the Government, the native 
inhabitants, their comfort, maintenance, and education, as well as to the 
interests of the parties heretofore engaged in trade and the protection of the 
fisheries, the right of taking fur-seals on the islands herein named, and of 
sending a vessel or vessels to the islands for the skins of such seals, for the 
term of twenty years, at an annual rental of not less than fifty thousand dollars, 
to be reserved in such lease and secured by a deposit of United States bonds 
to that amount ; and every such lease shall be duly executed in duplicate, and 
shall not be transferable. 

The Secretary of Cohimerce and Labor shall take from the lessees of such 
islands in all cases a bond, with securities, in a sum not less than five hundred 
thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful observance of all the laws and 
requirements of Congress, and the regulations of the Secretai'y of C-ommerce and 
Labor, touching the taking of fur-seals and the disposing of the same, and for 
the payment of all taxes and dues accruing to the United States connected there- 
with. 

No persons other than American citizens shall be permitted, by lease or other- 
wise, to occupy the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, or either of them, 
for the purpose of taking the skins of fur-seals therefrom, nor shall any foreign 
vessels be engaged in taking such skins; and the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor shall vacate and declare any lease forfeited if the same be held or oper- 
ated for the use, benefit, or advantage, directly or indirectly, of any persons 
other than American citizens. 

Every lease shall contain a covenant on the part of the lessee that he will not 
keep, sell, furnish, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors 
on either of those islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not being 
a physician aud furnishing the same for use as medicine; and every revenue 
officer, officially acting as such, on either of the islands, shall seize and destroy 
any distilled or spirituous liquors found thereon ; but such officer shall make 
detailed reports of his doings in that matter to the collector of the port. 



32 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES. 

Every porson wlio kills ;uiy fnr-si'ul on either of tliose islands, or in the waters 
adjacent (hereto, without authority of the lessees thereof, and every person who 
molests, disturbs, or interferes with the lessees, or either (»f them, or their agents 
or employi's. in the lawful prosecution of tluMr business, under the provisions 
of this chapter, shall for each offense be punished as prescribed in section nine- 
teen hundred and sixty-one; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, aiipurtenances, 
and car;;o, wiiose crews are found eu^'ajicd in an.v violation of the provisions of 
sections nineteen hundnnl and sixty-five to nineteen hundred and sixty-eight, 
inclusive, shiill be forfeited to the United States, 

If any person or company, under any lease herein authorized, knowingly kills 
or permits to be killed, any number of seals exceeding the number for each 
island in (his chapter prescribed, such [lerson or company shall, in addition to 
(he ])enalties and forfeitures hei-ein provided, forfeit the whole number of the 
skins of seals killed in that year, or, in case the same have been disposed of, 
then such person or compan.v shall forfeit the value of the same. 

In addition to the annual rental retpiired to be reserved in every lease, as 
provided in section nineteen hundred and sixty-three, a revenue tax or duty of 
two dollars is laid upon each fur-seal skin taken and shipped from the islands 
of Saint I'aul and Saint (Jeorge, during the continuance of any lease, to be paid 
into the Treasury of the United States; and the Secretary of Commerce and 
Lal)or is empowered to make all needfiil regulations for the collection and pay- 
ment of the same, and {o secure (la? comfort, maintenance, education, and pro- 
tection of the natives of those islands, and also to carry into full effect all the 
provisions of this chapter except as otherwise prescribed. 

The Secretary of Connnerce and Labor may terminate any lease given to any 
person, company, or corporation on full and satisfactory proof of the violation 
of any of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations established by him. 

The lessees shall furnish to the several masters of vessels employed by them 
certified copies of the lease held by them respectively, which shall be presented 
to the government revenue-officer for the time being who may be in charge at 
the islands as the authority of the party for lauding and taking skins. 

o 



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